Dahmer, Vernon Ferdinand, 1908-1966

Scope and Contents From the Collection:

This collection is a compilation of various materials relating to the Civil Rights Movement in the South.

Abstract The Sam Bowers) Sam Papers include the correspondence and writings of Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard and convicted murderer, Samuel Holloway Bowers, Jr. Bowers’ correspondence contains information concerning the Ku Klux Klan, as well as Bowers’ personal religiosity and philosophy. The writings in the collection are on a variety of topics, including the Medgar Evers assassination and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. The collection is of particular interest for researchers studying secret societies,...

Scope and Contents The Vernon F. Dahmer Collection consists of copies of newspaper clippings and programs dating from 1966 to 1998, and 24 photographs taken during the fifth trial of Sam Bowers. Most of the newspaper clippings were collected by the Dahmer family between 1966 and 1986, and follow events surrounding the bombing of their home, community support after the tragedy, and the trials of those men indicted for arson, murder, and conspiracy. Other articles in the collection were published in ...

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Materials documenting activities of African-American political activist in Hattiesburg,

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Items used by former Forrest County Prosecutor James K. Dukes for a USM University Forum presentation on August 29, 2000.

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NAACP correspondence and materials documenting the contributions of this Hattiesburg Civil Rights leader.

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Materials relating to her activities with the Delta Ministry in Mississippi.

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The Ira Grupper and Bob Beech Civil Rights Collection contains a Klan recruitment poster as well as information on Grupper’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. This collection is of particular interest to researchers studying the Civil Rights Movement, the Ku Klux Klan, Vernon Dahmer, and Mississippi history.

Abstract Robert B. Helfrich was the prosecuting attorney in both the 1998 Sam Bowers trial and the 1999 Charles Noble trial that took place in Mississippi. Mr. Helfrich received his undergraduate degree from George Mason University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi in 1985. In January 2003 Mr. Helfrich began his appointment as Circuit Court Judge for the Twelfth Circuit Court District in Mississippi. The materials in this collection consist of the documentation...

Scope and Contents From the Collection:

This collection contains the Klan recruitment poster nailed to a tree on the Vernon Dahmer property in 1965, as well as photocopies of two envelopes addressed to Grupper that are examples of the mail-tampering of the sixties. Also in the collection is an article by Ira Grupper from March 2002 called “The Fairgrounds Motel,” which details his and other activists’ imprisonment in Mississippi in June 1965.